When nine-year-old Dylan Bedwell was asked what he wanted for his birthday this year, he gave his family a surprising answer.
He didn’t ask for toys, games, clothes or money. Instead, he wanted to do something special for others.
Bedwell, who turned 10 on Nov. 19, is asking friends and family to skip getting him presents this year, and instead make a donation of food and/or other basic necessities to The Galax Hope House during his birthday party this Saturday.

For her senior project, Galax High School student Bentley Cornett has enlisted the help of her youth group at Baywood Wesleyan Church to collect over-the-counter medication for patients in El Salvador.
Cornett and her group, a pantomime team called “Silent Praise,” will perform skits at the high school on Nov. 20 beginning at 6 p.m. Medicine will be collected at the door for admission.

Missionary Doug Donithan scrolled through the collection of photos that he’s taken over the years in Tacloban, his home city in the Philippines where he has served for over 20 years.
Photos flashed across the screen of smiling children playing in and around modest but immaculately tidy homes; quaint street markets filled with busy customers; worship sessions in two different rental buildings that served the group as churches; and fisherman launching their boats into the crystal clear water.

With holiday supplies already covering the store shelves, Galax individuals, families, churches and groups are working to make Christmas a reality for needy kids around the world by filling shoeboxes with toys, school supplies, hygiene items and notes of encouragement.
Operation Christmas Child, the world’s largest Christmas project of its kind, is ramping up as Galax residents prepare to collect more than 850 gift-filled shoeboxes during National Collection Week (Nov. 18-25), according to a news release.

Levi Dasher Bowers turned one Sept. 30. He celebrated Sept. 29 with a Mickey Mouse party at his home with family and friends. He is the son of Travis and Heather Bowers of Galax.

His grandparents are Janice and the late Clarence Bowers, Paula Diamond of Galax and Dallas Diamond of Barren Springs. Great-grandparents include Ada Lee and Elmer Williams, the late Paul Haga, Dorothy and Paul Diamond, Ruby and the late Raymond Bowers and the late Audrey and Oacus Sizemore.

Two winners were chosen to transform themselves through personal training, and The Gazette is following their progress. Travis Haynes has completed his 12-week journey, while Treva Osborne is still undergoing a transformation to improve her overall health.

INDEPENDENCE — The River North Ministry Council voted at its Oct. 31 meeting to advertise for the hiring of a chaplain to serve at the new River North Correctional Center in Independence.
Council members voted unanimously to begin advertising the position in area newspapers this week. Applications will be reviewed on Nov. 30, and interviews will begin Dec. 2.